$91,000 bottle of wine a fake, Atlantan charges
An Atlanta collector with a cellar full of fine wines claims that his most prized -- and most expensive -- acquisition is a counterfeit. Julian LeCraw Jr. says in a federal lawsuit that he paid $91,000 for the 1787 Chateau d'Yquem, bottled before George Washington became president. At the time of the purchase, 2006, that was the single highest price ever paid for a bottle of white wine.
The London broker of rare wines who sold LeCraw the bottle -- as well as other vintages by Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Margaux -- personally delivered the d'Yquem to Atlanta, according to press reports at the time. LeCraw recalls having friends and other collectors over to view the prized bottle.
But a visiting dealer last year, having seen the rare vintages in LeCraw's cellar, suggested that the collector take a much closer look at the provenance of the wines. Whereupon he hired an authentication expert from California and even sent a delegation to France to present the wines at the chateaux where they were supposedly bottled hundreds of years ago. The results of the investigation: as a director at Chateau Lafite put it: "Faux, faux, faux," French for fake, fake, fake.
The London dealer insists that the wines are all genuine. LeCraw is seeking $25 million in damages.
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About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
